Remembrance
by bobjones1284
Summary: He was a hero. She wasn't. he was loved the world over. she wasn't. He was alive. ... ... She wasn't.
1. chapter 1

Chapter 1

Ember McLain was the paranormal princess of pop, and she was pissed. Yet another one of her attempts at musical domination was ruined by world-renowned goody two-shoes Danny Phantom when her supposed "backup" never bothered to show up. What's worse is the fact that after the hero boy saved the world from the Disasteroid, there was hardly a moment he wasn't being followed by cameras, news crews, and his stupid little "Phan club."

The result of this?

Every single second of her defeat was caught on video.

Every. Single. Second.

It wouldn't be so bad, if this were the first time that it had happened, but unfortunately, ever since the little dipstick had become world famous, he had defeated her far more times than she bothered to count.

To somehow make things even worse, every single time she was sucked up into his glorified soup-can, she knew the world was watching. Watching her, watching him, cheering him on while she was tossed to the wayside.

Needless to say, it felt unfair.

All she wanted was to have a little fun! Well, that and the entire world cheering her name. And even that didn't seem THAT unreasonable. It happens all the time! Any talentless hack could become the next big thing with a stroke of luck. The only difference between her and them was a lot of talent and a little supernatural influence.

She cries out in frustration, pulling out her guitar and doing a quick riff, sending a shockwave towards a distant, small, floating island.

The flying rock formation explodes, sending stone chunks scattering off into the green abyss. It didn't make her feel MUCH better, but she preferred this over just sulking.

Unfortunately, her destructive actions had gathered a bit of unwanted attention.

One of Walker's ghost cops floats over, baton in hand. She sees the goon approaching, And she lets out a heavily exaggerated sigh. "let this slide, and i'll give you my autograph." she says to the bright green spectre.

The ghost, after a moment's consideration, hands over his helmet. Ember summons a pen, and quickly jots down her name on the side. "there. Knock yourself out." she says, tossing the helmet back to the other ghost.

as the half-wit goon flies off, ember does the same, heading deeper into the endless, swirling green void. Soon enough, she reaches the area where the door to her realm, and those of many other spirits, floats idly, never really moving from its fixed position.

She looks at the door with a sigh. Each ghost had something to identify their realm, be it the large metal keypad-secured door to Technus's realm, or the huge physical manifestations of Walker's prison or Skulker's island. Hers was simple; a golden star with her name on it, like the living celebrities have.

She opens the door, floating inside and landing gently on the floor. She puts her guitar in its case, before walking over to the large couch and turning on the TV.

Her realm was nothing fancy; just like her door, she tried to keep it as true-to-life as an actual celebrities home. There was a kitchen she didn't need, a bedroom she didn't use, and all sorts of other things she had no purpose for. Whenever anyone would ask about it, she would just shrug and say something to the effect of "the humans have it, why shouldn't I?"

The real reason, however, made a bit more sense. She'd skin a person alive if they so much as suggested this, but deep down, she knows it's true.

She misses being alive.

But, she wasn't thinking about that now. Now, all she was thinking about was finding something to watch to get her mind off of her fight with Phantom.

She wouldn't admit it, but she was very thankful for Technus. Without him, her afterlife would be practically unbearable. Somehow, he had managed to smuggle all kinds of human tech into the ghost zone, including Televisions, Computers, space heaters- the ghost zone is VERY cold during its version of nighttime- and other useful things.

For whatever reason, the old former scientist considered the pop star a friend- likely through their mutual hatred of the ghost boy- and he gave her some of the stuff he managed to bring with him. Occasionally, he'd swing by with the newest models, often when she's not even home, taking back the old ones and replacing it with the newer version. What he did with the old ones, she didn't know, nor did she particularly care. She was just glad to have the stuff.

That said? There have been instances where she felt like sending her remote straight through the screen. Her most recent defeat was being shown on her favorite channel, and the video was… less than flattering.

There wasn't much that could make this afternoon worse.

"Hey sis! Hear ya got your butt kicked by Phantom- again."

It got worse.

She glances over at Youngblood, an irritated look on her face. "don't start." she warns.

"Aw, c'mon Em! It's not like it's the end of the world. Who knows? You might get him next time! Or the one after that. Or after that. Really, as long as you're in denial about your chances, there's ALWAYS hope!"

"Todd, just leave me alone." she growls, looking back at the TV.

Youngblood frowns, floating over to the couch and sitting down. "I told you I don't like to be called that." he says, his voice quiet.

Ember looks at her younger brother, and lets out a sigh. "Sorry. Just a little pissed about what happened." it was so hard for her sometimes, hard to remember that the kid sitting on the couch watching TV with her wasn't Todd McLain any more.

"it's alright Sis, I understand." he says, his voice starting to regain its typical cheery tone. "y'know, I don't get your beef with Phantom."

This catches her off-guard. "What was that?" she asks, looking over at her brother.

"I mean, yeah, I didn't really like him much either, at first. He was annoying as all-get-out, with his self-righteous hero Schtick-"

"That's exactly my problem with him!" Ember interrupts. "The stupid hero thing!"

"-BUT… he's actually pretty cool when you get to know him! I've talked to him a few times during his visits to this world. Just last week, he even brought me an ice-cream cone! You have no idea how much i've missed that stuff, Em."

Ember crosses her arms over her chest. "He's a goody two-shoes, Bro. That's what he does."

Youngblood looks at her, perplexed. "so…"

She raises her eyebrow, picking up the remote and starting to flip through the channels on the TV. "So what?"

"So what's the big deal? He's a "goody two-shoes", yeah, what's so bad about that? Just don't cause trouble in the human world, and he'll leave you alone! But from what I can tell, you go there JUST to cause trouble! And it's not like you don't KNOW that doing that gets phantom's attention, really, you kinda just make your own problems. I mean, it's almost like you want to get his att...en...tion… oh my god!"

As Youngblood starts laughing, ember gives him an annoyed look. "what? What's so funny?" She wasn't really listening to him ranting, but now she wanted to know what was making him laugh so hard.

"Y- you like Phantom!" he manages to choke out between fits of laughter.

"I do NOT!" ember says, throwing a pillow at her brother, who dodges it.

"Yes you do! You go to the human world and stir up trouble just so you can see him!"

"Shut up, ya little turd!" she says, laughing. She knew he was just messing with her, but she also knew he liked it when she just went along with it.

"Oh man! i've got like, a bazillion people to text about this!"

"A bazillion, huh? How've you got that many contacts when I'm the only one who will put up with your sorry butt?" she grins.

"Hey! You're a Butt, you Butt!" Youngblood counters.

The two go on like this for a little while, laughing and getting increasingly more ridiculous with their playful insults. Ember was enjoying herself, having finally found something to get that two-bit ghost hero danny phantom off of her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

[Amity park, roughly an hour ago]

Danny was sitting in class when his ghost sense went off. he stood up, and looked over at his teacher.

Mr. Lancer stops his lecture briefly, giving the young superhero a smile. "No need to ask, Daniel. Go ahead."

"Thanks, Mister Lancer!" Danny says, before holding both arms over his head and letting out his signature battlecry. "I'm going ghost!"

His classmates let out a cheer as two glowing white rings of energy form around his waist, one moving up his body, and the other moving down. In a flash, the young teen has transformed, leaving behind Danny Phantom, saviour of the earth. He flies up, phasing harmlessly through the ceiling of the classroom.

Mr. Lancer, meanwhile, looks back at his students, who had started to calm down, but were still talking amongst themselves about the possibilities, who he was fighting, mostly. "Now now students, just because there's a ghost attack doesn't mean class has ended."

Surveying the disappointed faces of the students, and listening to their groans, the bald teacher smirks. "That said? My bet's on Ember Mclain."

-across town-

As it turns out, he was correct- a large crowd had gathered around a truck that had appeared in the park overnight. An image of the ghostly punk-rock girl's face was on the side, her name written in fiery lettering. Suddenly, an almost hypnotically beautiful female voice calls out to the crowd.

"AMITY PARK! TELL ME… WHO! YOU! LOVE!"

Suddenly, ember jumps up through the roof of her truck, guitar in hand and a wide grin across her face. Without a moment's hesitation, she began playing her signature song- "Remember."

The crowd begins cheering, and ember grins. Her confidence doesn't last long, however, as she realizes something. If the cheers were for her, why wasn't she feeling their energy? Something was off. She stops playing, looking down at the crowd. "Hey! what are you bozos cheering for?" she asks, realising that the crowd has its back towards her.

Suddenly, a beam of green energy strikes her square in the chest, knocking her onto her back. She coughs, pushing herself up. "what the hell…?" she asks, looking up. "Oh, great." she says with a groan.

Danny Phantom was hovering a few feet above her, a smug grin on his face. "What's wrong, Ember? Don't like that another celebrity is at your little concert?" he taunts.

Ember growls, looking up at the ghost boy. She regains her composure quickly, flying up into the air to be at his level. "You'd be pretty peeved if YOU saw some lame-o trying to crash your party, wouldn't you dipstick?" she retorts, strumming her guitar, challenging the ghost boy with a look that practically shouted "Make a move."

And then?

They fought.

Sonic waves and ecto beams clash, a wall of flame is expertly dodged by Phantom, an icy projectile is melted by Ember's hair, and all the while, news crews are below, filming everything.

Suddenly, Danny notices something about his rival's combat; she seems far more defensive than usual. Obviously, she was a smart girl. She knew how to keep herself safe in a fight, blending defensive and offensive techniques like a dance between the two; but this time? It was almost like she was trying to stall the hero.

Danny narrows his eyes slightly, deciding to up the ante on his foe.

Meanwhile, Ember's power is starting to falter under Danny's barrage of attacks. Over the three years that he'd had these powers, he'd become far stronger. Normally, Ember was able to hold her own rather well, but that was when she had a massive crowd cheering her on, and at the current moment in time, they were all cheering for their precious "town hero."

Ember shuts her eyes, gritting her teeth as she struggles to maintain the ectoplasmic shield around her. "C'mon Skulker…" she mutters, annoyed.

But there's no sign of the metal-clad hunter.

The pop star lets out a frustrated cry, jumping to the side just in time to avoid being hit by the beam that shattered her ecto-shield.

Danny grins, floating down towards the ghost lying on the ground, his arms crossed over his chest as he floats a little bit over her. "Well, Ember, I gotta say, you're not nearly as tough without a crowd cheering for you. Guess a fair fight between us isn't all too fair, eh?"

She glares at the ghost boy, making a hand gesture that the newscasters knew would be edited out as Danny pulls out his Fenton Thermos and sucks the ghost girl inside. He'd return her to the ghost zone, go back to school, and the status-quo would resume, as it always had, and inevitably always will.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Danny and Ember, sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I--" the young ghost pauses as what sounds like a jet engine approaches the front door. Youngblood knew what that meant.

Ember growls, hearing a familiar knock on the door. It was loud, and heavy- almost as though the visitor were made of metal. She knew exactly who it was.

Youngblood frowns, looking over at the door. "I thought you guys were done. I don't like the way he treats you, Em…"

The pop-star ruffles her brother's hair, giving him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, bro. We're done now. Promise."

That smile vanished into an angry scowl when the spectral singer's soon to be Ex-boyfriend starts to pound on the door again.

Ember walks over to the door, opening it up and giving a death-glare to the hunter standing there. The Battle-suit wearing blob of ectoplasm named Skulker gives Ember a cocky smile, either not noticing or choosing to ignore the livid expression decorating the girl's face.

"So, I hear that Whelp managed to defeat you again. I don't see why you insist on trying to beat him yourself, and why you don't just let me handle it while you sit aside and look pretty…" as he says this, he walks through the door, uninvited. Ember doesn't shut it, she simply crosses her arms over her chest as the hunter sits down on the couch.

"Ember, while you're up, could you go and fetch me an Ecto-whiskey?"

She doesn't move.

Skulker glances at her, an annoyed tone overtaking his voice. "I asked you to--" he's interrupted by his ex-to-be.

"Where were you?"

"What?"

"In the park! The plan? Remember? I'd distract the dip-stick, and you'd catch him off-guard?"

Skulker takes a moment to remember exactly what it is she's talking about. "hm… wh- Ah, ah yes, I remember."

She waits for a few seconds, only growing angrier. "Well?"

"Meh. I saw an interesting specimen, and I got distracted."

Ember was ready to kill this ghostly son of a bitch.

"You were DISTRACTED?!? By what?!? What could possibly be more important than the ghost boy whose pelt you never FUCKING shut up about?!?"

Skulker stands up, turning to face the singer. "I advise you watch your tongue, woman. A hunter's mind is far more complex than you can fathom."

"Is that right, little mister 'can't-kill-a-teenage-boy'? Well, I suppose it's such a good thing YOU AREN'T A REAL HUNTER!"

He was on his way towards her before she finished her sentence. "What did you say about me, wench?"

Youngblood, who had been sitting on the couch, focusing on the TV in a vain attempt to tune the two out, grabs a pillow and hugs it, looking for some form of comfort.

"I said, you're not a real hunter, and we are through!"

The resulting slap could be heard all across the ghost zone.

[Fenton works]

Danny phases through the wall of his house after school, popping his back with a satisfied grin. "Mom! Dad! I'm home!" he calls out. Almost instantly, he's met with the thunderous footsteps of his father coming up from the lab.

"Danny!" he says. "Welcome home, son!"

Jack Fenton is a very large man. If Danny had to compare him to any animal, it would have to be a bear. A big, friendly, bear. In a bright orange jumpsuit.

Danny smiles. His father was always so excited to see him, even before he saved the world from the Disasteroid.

"Me and your mother picked up on an ecto-signal in the park earlier, we trust you were able to handle it?"

Danny nods, gesturing towards the door to the lab. "Yeah, I got her. Ember."

Jack smirks as he walks over and claps his son on the back. "Helluva catch, my boy! Maddie! Whip up some fudge to celebrate another victory for Danny Phantom!"

The youngest of the two Fenton children laughs. Without fail, his dad would always say the name of his alter ego, Danny Phantom, in the proudest, most over-the-top voice he could.

Maddie Fenton steps out of the kitchen, holding a bowl and a wooden spoon. "Already on it!" she declares proudly.

Danny's mother was physically the exact opposite of his father. While he was a big, broad man, she was small and skinny. Like jack, she was always, 100% of the time, clad in a one-piece jumpsuit. The only difference is, while his was shockingly orange, hers was a much gentler on the eyes shade of blue. She wasn't currently wearing the headpiece, freeing her short, brownish-orange hair.

Danny smiles. "Thanks, Mom!"

Overall, Danny felt blessed to have such a loving family.

[Ghost zone]

Youngblood couldn't take it. Skulker's first strike had knocked his sister to the ground. Youngblood had tried to intervene, but…

His hand moves to his neck, gently rubbing it. Skulker would have crushed his windpipe for sure, if he had a windpipe to crush.

The young spectre feels hot tears starting to sting his eyes as he rushes away from the door. "Gotta get help…" he says to himself.

Then, he starts to panic. Who should he go to? One of Walker's ghost cops? They wouldn't care. One of Ember's friends? That WOULD be an option, if he knew where they were. Box ghost? ... No.

He stops, spotting an octagonal metal gateway to the human world. Phantom was a superhero, right? That means he helps people. There was no guarantee Ember would want his help, but what other choice did Youngblood have? He just hoped Phantom would be willing to help his sister...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Danny lets put a gasp, a wisp of cold air escaping his lips. He gets up off the couch, starting to head towards the door to the lab. As he walks down the staircase, he allows the twin rings of his super-powered transformation to appear, moving up and down his form, changing him into town hero, Danny Phantom.

Most of the time, ghosts knew better than to leave the ghost zone through the fenton's portal. Obviously, whoever was coming through now was either really powerful, really stupid, or the box ghost.

"Alright, c'mon out!" danny shouts to the open portal. "You've got my attention, no point trying to retreat now!"

He waits, hands glowing with ectoplasmic energy. When nothing comes through, he raises an eyebrow. "uh… hello?" he asks, stepping towards the portal.

No response. He takes another step, only to see Youngblood come through the portal, hands in the air. "Don't shoot!" he says. "I'm not here to fight!"

Danny lowers his hands, the energy built up around them dispersing. Normally, he wouldn't fall for the kid's tricks, but there was something about his voice, telling Danny that whatever this is, it's real.

"Oh… uh, okay sure, what do you want?"

Youngblood flies over, hugging Danny's leg. "you gotta help my big sister danny, you gotta!" he says, seemingly on the verge of tears.

Danny manages to pry the ghost off of his leg, before getting down on his knees, putting a hand on the kd's shoulder. "Okay, hang on- you've got a sister?" he asks.

Youngblood nods. "Yeah, now hurry! She's in trouble!" he says, grabbing Danny's hand with a surprising strength, pulling him towards the portal.

The ghost boy sighs, his legs morphing into a tail as he flies into the portal, being led by the child.

[Ember's realm]

Ember has always been able to hold her own in a fight. As long as she can anticipate the first blow, she'd be able to fight back.

Unfortunately for her, the first strike came as a complete surprise. Skulker had always been a dick, and he'd always made threats, but he'd never actually hit her before. As she lay there on the floor, knocked onto her back by the force of the slap, the hunter pulled his arm back, ready to pummel her into the ground.

[Ghost Zone]

Danny flies through the empty green void, moving at his top speed, carrying Youngblood on his back. Youngblood holds onto Danny's shoulders, telling him where to go. He'd almost find the ride fun, if not for the urgency of the situation.

Finally, Youngblood tells him to stop. "That's the place!" he says, pointing towards an open door floating in the middle of nowhere. Danny nods, flying towards it, and letting Youngblood hop off his back.

The halfa floats towards the door, hands glowing with bright green ecto-energy. A slight gasp escapes his lips when he sees what Youngblood had brought him for. Skulker stood there, back to the door, a bit of ectoplasm on the knuckles of his suit. lying on the ground was an unconscious Ember Mclain, ectoplasm flowing from her nose and pooling up on the ground beside her.

Danny is surprised for a moment. Not having known exactly WHO youngblood's sister was, learning that the child is related to the pop star comes as a slight shock- though, now that he thought about it, he could see the resemblance.

He looks back at the two, stepping further into the room. As he looks at Ember, he feels an anger start to fill him up. She was an enemy, yeah, but as far as his ghostly foes go, she was far from the worst. In fact, he's always seen her as a rival, more than anything else. All in all, she deserved much better than this. "Hey, Skulker!" Danny shouts.

The hunter turns, only to be met with a swift ectoplasmically-charged punch to the face. Danny's other hand, which had also been charging up its power, fires a powerful ghost-ray straight at the chest of the battle-suit.

Skulker tries to raise a hand to the damaged area, only for his suit to stall up with an awful noise. Danny smirks. Frayed and scorched wires spark in the hole, which apparently had gone through the front, cut through whatever was inside, and melted a hole straight through the back of the suit.

Suddenly, Danny feels a strange tug at his fingertips. Without even realizing it, he cups his hands together, green light shining from between his fingertips. He glances down, surprised. "What the--" he stops, pulling one hand away. In the palm of his hand, he sees a glowing green ball of energy. After a moment of examination, it starts to get hot- too hot!

Danny throws the ball as a reflex, and by some miracle, it lands inside of Skulker's suit through the hole in its chest. Green smoke starts billowing out from the hole, and then…

Boom!

Shreds of burnt metal shoot out all over the room. Danny creates an Ecto-shield to protect himself from the shrapnel, and when all's said and done, he walks over to Skulker's helmet- or what's left of it- the tiny ecto-blob lying on the ground beside it, coughing and sputtering. He unclips the thermos from his belt, sucking the blob inside, pure contempt painting his expression.

He walks towards the door, shaking the thermos slightly before chucking it into the void as hard as he can. As it becomes a smaller and smaller speck on the horizon, Danny smirks at Youngblood, who was just watching in awe. "Either someone finds him and sets him free, or some animal ghost decides to use the thermos as a chew toy."

Youngblood floats towards the door, looking around. The room seemed untouched- aside from the metal scraps scattered around on the floor. They had harmlessly bounced off the walls in the explosion, as this was not Skulker's realm- he couldn't destroy any part of it, not even tearing just the smallest bit of wallpaper.

Danny's about to fly off, a job well done, when Youngblood gasps. "Danny! Come here!"

Danny walks over, Immediately seeing the problem. A shard of metal had struck ember right in the stomach, and a pool of ectoplasm was starting to form around her.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Danny rushes over to the pop star's unconscious form. "Oh shit…" he says under his breath, looking at the wound. "that is not good… Youngblood, is there some kind of ghost hospital anywhere?"

The child shakes his head, clearly afraid for his sister's safety.

Danny sighs. "Alright, uh… hm…" he gently reaches down, grasping onto the shard of blackened ecto-steel and pulling it out, slowly, taking care to not cause any more damage than was already there. He gets a little nauseous, seeing all the dark green slime sticking to it, long strands dangling from it to Ember's wound, but he presses on.

When the shard has been fully removed, danny hesitates, before squeezing the ecto-steel between two fingers, and running his hand down the shard, dropping all the ectoplasm back into Ember's body. He tosses the shard aside, staring at her.

Just like before, a tug at Danny's fingertips result in him moving his hands without realizing that he's doing it. He puts one hand on the other, holding them both over her wound. His eyes close as a white glow emanates from his palm.

His hands go numb, and Youngblood- who danny had almost forgotten was there- gasps in surprise as the dark green goo from the shard starts to glow with new [after] life.

Strands of ghostly flesh shoot from one end of the hole to the other, rapidly regenerating the tissue until nothing is left but a scar.

Danny opens his eyes, looking at his hands, confused. "What…?" he asks, genuinely confused. "That's two new powers in one day…" he remarks. His pondering is interrupted,however, by a small noise escaping Ember's lips. He pauses, looking from her, to Youngblood. "Hey, I gotta go. Let me know if that jerk comes back."

When Youngblood promises to tell Danny, the half-ghost flies away, heading back towards the Fenton portal. Youngblood smiles, looking back at his sister as she wakes up.

"Thank you, Danny…"

[Øb§ərv@n?§ rə@łm]

Many large eyeballs surrounded by glowing ectoplasmic energy turn to look at each other from their positions in the council viewing chambers.

"Phantom has begun another growth in his power."

"He has the potential to become the single most powerful ghost in the ghost zone!"

"But he cares for its residents."

"does he truly care?"

"He has more than enough power to destroy them each and every time they enter his world, And yet, he merely returns them here with a slap on the wrist and a harsh word or two."

"Even his new power reflects his nature!"

"Ecto-regeneration is a significant feat for any ghost on their own, but to be able to do it to others…"

"And the fact that he'd use it on one he calls a foe, one who mere hours before he bested in combat!"

"Cruelty in one hand, compassion in the other. The power to end an era in the ghost zone, no matter his choice… the matter, of course, is whether or not his decision allows a new era to rise."

"Phantom's timeline is split. We are all aware of this. He can either usher in a golden age for us, or Armageddon."

"But the events that could have led to that future failed to pass, young Daniel has not begun down the path of torment and suffering we feared he would!"

"The circumstances leading to that future may always change. After all, it is still a possible timeline."

"Clockwork's insistence upon keeping that relic of an ashen wasteland of a future serves as a reminder. As long as Dan Phantom exists in the present, the future is not set in stone."

"Then what do you suggest, Grandmaster? Surely we cannot execute the boy, for if he is prophesied to bring about a golden age, it would not be wise to prevent this. Plus, if it goes wrong, it could send him down the path of darkness!"

"Agreed. We shall keep an eye on young Daniel Phantom, and intervene if need be. Council of observants, you are dismissed!"


	6. Chapter 6

"Youngblood… Youngblood, wh- what happened? Last I remember was Skulker's fist making contact with my face at about the speed of a space shuttle…"

The young ghost tackles his sister, hugging her like she would vanish if he let go.

"Ember! Ember, I was so scared! I thought… i thought you were gonna be destroyed! I thought you were gonna die again!" The child manages to say between heavy sobs.

The pop-star poltergeist looks at him with a shocked, deer-in-headlights look before returning his embrace, holding him tight and gently stroking the back of his head.

"Hey… Hey, It's gonna be okay. Don't worry. I'm still here, see? I'm fine."

She was worried for her brother. He hardly ever cried, and whenever he did- like now- it was always caused by something serious. So, she just sat there, holding onto her brother as tight as she can to calm him down, waiting for him to calm down enough to talk about what had happened.

After a few minutes of comfort, Youngblood has calmed down enough to tell ember exactly what happened. He tells her about Skulker knocking her out, about him getting Danny to help, how the young hero had utterly destroyed his armor…

About the shard that had pierced her abdomen, the dark, gooey ectoplasm Danny pulled off of said shard, how Danny regenerated her flesh and saved her from a one-way trip to the Unworld.

Ember had no idea how to feel about this.

[Elsewhere, in the ghost zone]

Danny had no idea how to feel about this.

For whatever reason, he was STILL filled with uncharacteristic rage towards Skulker. He couldn't think of a real reason for it, but something about the hunter's actions just got him so pissed off, even after the situation had been dealt with.

So, in order to take his mind off of it, he did the first thing he could think of.

Danny decided to go on a scenic fly through the ghost zone.

[Ember's realm]

Ember decided to go on a scenic fly through the ghost zone.

She didn't know what else to do. The ghost-boy, who mere moments before she had been talking about hating so much, had saved her from a fate worse than death.

Really, She couldn't even say that she would have been fine if he hadn't shown up. Skulker wouldn't have let up on the beating. He was merciless. He could have killed her just as easily as the shard could have.

She had come so close to becoming the ghost of a ghost, a being trapped in the Unworld. Practically non-existent. And she had the goody-two shoes superhero to thank for it. The one who had beat her so often, stopped so many of her plans…

Well. Needless to say, she wasn't entirely sure what to say when she accidentally ran into him head-on.

Danny hadn't been paying attention to where he was going, he'd admit, but he didn't think he was so distracted he'd bump into someone in a huge, green void.

"Oh! Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was…" he trails off, noticing the pale blue flames of Ember's hair. "...going… uh, hey, ember. Didn't expect to see you again so soon. Seems you've recovered pretty well."

She looks at him for a moment, looking away just as quickly.

"Yeah. No thanks to--" she stops. That wasn't entirely true. "I mean… thanks. Thank you. For… not, uh… letting me die."

She could lower herself enough to thank him, but it'd be a long time before She'd even think about admitting he'd saved her.

"No problem. I mean… of all the ghosts I've fought, you're far from the worst."

She raises an eyebrow. "You been fighting around with other ghosts, babypop? And here I thought we had something special." she teases, a small grin on her face.

Danny lets out a small laugh at this. "Uh huh. Well, sometimes I just want a challenge for a change- is that so wrong?" He responds, grinning.

Ember suppresses a laugh, mocking an offended look. "You're breaking my heart, hero-boy!"

"Go write a song about it."

"Nah, not worth the effort."

"Pssh, you just won't because you're a one-hit wonder."

"Hey, one successful song is better than none."

"I could write a song if I wanted to."

"Ha! Don't get too big for those tights of yours, babypop."

And so the two go on. Throwing witty banter back and forth just like they do whenever they're about to fight.

Eventually, though, Danny had to go home. He tells ember and begins flying off, only to stop when she calls out to him.

"Hey babypop!"

"yeah?"

"Next time i'm in the human world, don't bother with fighting me, alright? I think I'm gonna take a bit of a break from the world takeover plots, focus on my music a bit more, y'know?"

Danny is a bit shocked by this, and given ember's reaction to his expression, It's pretty obvious.

"I'm not gonna stop fighting ya entirely, dipstick. Just think of it as a little break."

The ghost-boy hesitates, before smiling. "I'd be worried if it were anything else, Ember."

The faintest of blushes grace the ghost's face as she watches Danny fly off.

"Huh. Maybe Youngblood was right about you, Dipstick."


End file.
